Holding what appears to be a bottle of beer - this the Belgian police chief sent home in disgrace after being drunk at an urgent terror meeting on the day of the Brussels terror attacks.

Robert Devillez arrived late to the emergency session and reportedly 'struggled to communicate' when grilled by his bosses in the hours after ISIS suicide bombers hit the city.

Colleagues suspected he was intoxicated and confiscated his gun as Devillez took a breathalyser test confirming he was over the limit.

The commissioner was set to review emergency security plans with the local mayor, hours after Brussels metro and airport were hit by suicide bombings that killed 31 people.

He was found to have 0.8g/l of alcohol in his blood, which is above the 0.5g/l legal driving limit in Belgium. The limit in the UK is 0.8g/l.

While he has only been identified by his initials 'RD', by the Belgian media, he is the only police commissioner in the Ixelles district to share these initials.

When approached by MailOnline, police authorities in Brussels refused to comment on whether the Commissioner being investigated is indeed Robert Devillez, a police commissioner in the Ixelles district of the city.

Spokesman for the district Christian De Coninck would also not confirm the confiscation of his service weapon, or that he was sent home although it was widely reported by Belgian media.

'As soon as his superiors found the problem, they did the necessary and set up a report. And the police chief took disciplinary measurements. But I cannot go any futher on this otherwise there will be a procedure mistake and this can go all down the drain,' he said.

But authorities have previously been made aware of alcohol abuse within the district's police force when it was outlined in an explosive report published last year.

The 73-page ISPPW (internal service for prevention and protection at work) warned in September 2015 that there was an alcohol problem among police officers in the Ixelles district, which includes many of the city's popular eating and drinking spots as well as European Parliament offices.

'They would drink all day at the expense of work and colleagues who want to work. This deteriorates the image of the police,' the report said.

Drunk: The Brussels police chief was forced to take a breathalyser test after failing to answer questions at a crisis meeting in the wake of the terror attacks at Zaventem Airport (pictured) and Maelbeek metro station

Brussels police have been criticised for their botched handling of the attacks as they missed chance after chance to stop the bombings

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Disgrace: Commissioner Devillez had his gun confiscated and was sent home after a breathalyser test showed he was above Belgium drink drive limit

'The management is aware but obscures the problem so as not to make waves.'

When the reports findings were put to district Mayor Dominique Dufourny in the wake of the scandal, she said the issue of alcohol abuse had already been raised.

'I will check it. The alcohol issue has been raised and we will be very alert in the future', Mayor Dominique Dufourny told local journalists.

According to Belgian press, the penalty for drunk service, ranges from a warning to a reprimand to suspension or the sack.

It comes as Belgian authorities approved the extradition of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam to France while police continue their search for a suspected third attacker, the so-called 'man in the hat' seen in surveillance images alongside the two airport bombers.

With no suspects in custody over the attacks, police have appealed for possible images taken by members of the public.

Many of the group had also fought with ISIS in Syria or had been deported by Turkish authorities who suspected they were travelling to Syria to fight with the terror group.

Abdeslam, the sole surviving suspect was arrested in Brussels on March 18 after four months on the run as Europe's most wanted man.

A Zaventem airport worker, left and a Brussels Police officer take part in a memorial service for the victims of the Brussels bomb attacks at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, Monday

Blunders: CCTV above shows the Brussels airport bombers Najim Laachraoui (left), Ibrahim El Bakraoui (centre) and the 'man in white' who is still being hunted by authorities

Bombings claimed by a coordinated Islamic State cell were carried on in the city just four days later, leading to intense criticism of the authorities policing of jihadis.

Abdeslam's lawyer said that his 26-year-old client had agreed to be transferred to France under a European arrest warrant, clearing the way for a fast-track extradition.

'What Salah Abdeslam wants to make known is that he wants to cooperate with the French authorities. These are the words he wants to make known,' lawyer Cedric Moisse told reporters in Brussels.

The transfer to France should happen 'within 10 days', said French justice minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas, but Belgian investigators will still be allowed to question Abdeslam in France.

He is believed to have acted as a logistics coordinator for the Paris attacks and has told investigators he was meant to carry out a suicide bombing at the Stade de France stadium but backed out.

Close links have emerged between the Paris and Brussels attackers, exposing a tangled web of cross-border extremist cells and triggering a series of raids and arrests in several European countries.